Battlestar Colossus: A Journey of Survival
by Wes Imlay
Summary: In the aftermath of the Battle of Ostarsis the Battlestar Colossus is left alone and on the run from the Cylons. This is the story of the Colossus' fight for survival in the attempt to return to the fleet of military and civilian ships it had been a part of. (This story runs concurrent with the events of Battlestar Victorious Volume Four)
1. Chapter 1: Game of Chance

**The **_**Colossus**_**' Story**

**Written by: Wes Imlay**

**Chapter One: Game of Chance**

**(Author's Note: This story begins with events from the last chapter of Battlestar **_**Victorious**_** Volume Three and runs concurrent with Battlestar**_** Victorious**_** Volume Four)**

**Eight Months after the Fall of the Colonies:**

**Battle of Ostarsis:**

_**Colossus**_**, Flag CIC:**

"Admiral, the shuttles have landed," Mullins announced.

"Excellent, send word to all ships to jump to the civilian fleet," Tolan ordered.

The _Colossus_ shook more violently as the ships along the battle line began to jump away, allowing the Cylons to focus on the _Colossus_.

"Why haven't we jumped away yet?" Tolan asked Commander Dorian Mercer, the _Colossus_' Commanding Officer, through the wireless receiver.

"Our FTL was knocked offline when we got hit a couple of minutes ago. The Chief Engineer is trying to get it back online."

"Make sure he gets it done soon, there's no telling how much longer we'll be able to hold."

"Understood, Admiral, we'll let you know as soon as it's ready."

Tolan took a deep breath and watched, as one by one, the ships disappeared off the DRADIS screen until all that was left was the _Colossus_.

"The remaining baseships are closing in," Mullins announced.

"Issue an emergency recall on the Vipers and inform the gun captains to fire until they're either killed or out of ammo."

The intensity of the impacts against the hull of the _Colossus_ intensified, causing equipment to fall and crew to crash to the deck.

Alone with an FTL, that was offline and surrounded by Cylons, not exactly the situation Tolan had wanted to find himself in…but yet there it was. The_ Colossus_ was one of the newer battlestars and being a member of the Titan class meant that it had the heavy armor to absorb quite a bit of battle damage. However, there was the possibility that the FTL would stay offline and the damage would become so severe that the ship would be lost along with everyone onboard.

As the ship shook from the hits coming in from the Cylons Tolan found himself thinking of his friends and loved ones. He had began to wonder if the Battlestar_ Hermes_ was still out there and if Commander Artimus Bowman, a friend close enough to be considered a brother, was still alive. If Artimus_ were_ dead then he would see him on the other side if the FTL drives_ were_ not brought back online.

Then there was Emily and their kids, and the idea of not coming back to see them again. Everything he had done since the Fall of the Colonies had been to keep them safe from the Cylons. Would they still be safe if he did not return from this mission? Had he thrown that away by carrying out this operation?

The hits were becoming more frequent and the shuddering of the ship more violent as the Cylons began to move in closer, like a pack of wolves coming in for the kill.

'You can kill us but we'll take some of you down with us," Tolan thought defiantly. He knew the _Colossus_' guns were still blazing away at the Cylons and would continue to do so until they either were out of ammunition or were silenced permanently.

He kept his composure knowing that the personnel in the Flag CIC would probably be watching him closely to see how he would react to this situation. Truth was he did not fear death…he was simply in no hurry to make it to the afterlife.

"Admiral, Commander Mercer says that the FTL is back online but the computer can only plot a jump to the Ragan System."

"Tell him to make the jump!" Tolan ordered. The Ragan System was the designated system for the ships to jump to in case they had to jump to somewhere other than the civilian fleet.

Moments later the _Colossus_ vanished in a flash of light.

**Ragan System: **

"Jump complete," Petty Officer Tanya Mullins announced from the Tactical Station in the Flag CIC.

"That was a close one, sir. Gods, it seemed we were going to buy it then and there," Ensign Lucien Whitfield, Tolan's Chief-of-Staff said.

Fleet Admiral Scott Tolan steadied himself and tried to reign in his thoughts about what had just happened. On one hand, he felt relieved that the rescue mission had been completed and he was pleasantly surprised that there were still some Colonial Fleet units out there that he had not discovered yet.

However, that was tempered by the knowledge that lives had been lost during the mission along with at least two battlestars and an untold number of personnel. He was certain that the casualties would be high; the only question was exactly how high the number would be once all of the losses had been counted.

"Mister Whitfield, you're in charge here until I return. I'm going down to the CIC to have a word with Commander Mercer," Tolan said before turning to head out the doors of the Flag CIC.

He stepped out onto the upper level of the CIC and saw crewmembers hard at work on trying to gauge the exact damage done to the _Colossus_. Down in the CIC's lower level he saw Commander Mercer and Colonel Anna Wong at Command and Control intently going over reports that were being brought to them.

"Sitrep," Tolan said as he walked up to the two officers.

"Sir, it looks like we took a pounding from the Cylons. The FTL is offline again and the Chief says he can't be sure how quickly he can get it running," Mercer said as he laid down the report from the Chief Engineer.

"That's our first priority; with that FTL offline we're sitting ducks," Tolan said.

"I agree," Mercer said as he ran a hand through his hair. He was sure it had become grayer in the months since the Colonies fell.

"DRADIS contacts!" the tactical officer yelled.

The three officers looked up at the DRADIS screen and saw a group of at least six Cylon baseships moving in.

"Frak me, how did they find us so fast?" Wong asked.

"Doesn't really matter, they found us," Mercer said before turning to the tactical officer, "Get all weapons trained on those baseships."

"I'll see if Chief Engelhart can get the FTL back up quickly," Wong said as she picked up a nearby receiver and got in touch with Engineering.

"He'd better or else it's going to become an academic question," Tolan said. He was sure that at this moment Major Gustav Engelhart, the _Colossus_' Chief Engineer, was probably working feverishly to get the FTL going. That was their only chance of making it through this encounter with the Cylons.

The _Colossus_ began to shake once again as the shells from the Cylon guns began to find their mark. For Tolan, it was a creepy feeling of déjà vu. He looked around and had to give the crew credit, they were moving at a faster pace than they had been before the Cylons had shown up. It was as though a surge of electricity had begun to surge through an invisible wire.

"I'll be in the Flag CIC," Tolan said as he turned away from Command and Control to head back up the stairs.

He bounded up the stairs and was about a quarter of the way up when the massive room shook violently from the impact of a hit. Consoles sparked and electrical fires began to break out in various areas of the CIC. Tolan was thrown against the handrail and he felt a surge of pain course through his back from the impact.

For what felt like an eternity, his senses seemed to have dulled; now everything in the CIC seemed to be moving in slow motion. It was then that another impact caused the _Colossus_ to shake violently and his head hit the steel step hard and there was no way for him to fight the blackness.

A voice began to intrude on the darkness and draw him back to consciousness. Shaking his head seemed to help clear out some of the cobwebs but his body seemed to be slow to respond. He felt a pair of hands grab him and pull him up onto his feet.

"Admiral Tolan…Scott, can you hear me?" a woman's voice asked.

Tolan blinked and realized to whom he was talking, "Bridget, thank the Gods you're alive!"

He was going to say something else to her when she suddenly reached down and kissed him on the lips.

"Thanks for coming back for me. It's good to still be alive but we won't be much longer if we don't get out of here."

"I agree; let's see if Command and Control is still working," he said before asking, "How long was I out for?"

"Not sure, to be honest with you, things were pretty frantic when we got here," she said and then turned to another figure standing at Command and Control checking Command Mercer and Colonel Wong, "Miss Rigel, how are they?"

Ensign Angela Rigel stood up and shook her head, "Colonel Wong is still alive but unconscious but I'm afraid we lost Commander Mercer."

"All right, I'm assuming command of the CIC," Tolan said and when he looked over to Tactical he saw the officer was laying on the deck with a gaping wound in his neck, "Miss Rigel, it's great to see that you survived, but right now I need you over at Tactical."

Rigel nodded. "I'm on it, feels good to be back in the fight!"

"What about me?" Woods asked.

"I need you to keep me updated on the FTL; as soon as it is online again I want you to let me know."

"That won't be a problem," she said as she quickly picked up a receiver to connect her to Engineering, "What are you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to get as much distance between us and the Cylons as I can. We're in no condition for a straight-up fight, I'm going to take us across the system and by then the FTL will hopefully be online."

"I like it," Woods said before turning her attention to the Chief Engineer, "Hey, Chief, give me an update on the FTL."

"Helm, set a course for the opposite end of the system, squeeze every last bit of Tylium we can for the sub-light engines," Tolan ordered the Helm Officer, who quickly complied.

"I'm turning as many guns as I can onto the Cylons, ready to fire on your order," Rigel said.

"You may fire at will, use your judgment with where you target. Just make sure you can buy us some time."

"Sounds good…the baseships have launched Raiders, I'm setting every available AA gun to start firing," Rigel said.

"Good, then maybe that will buy us some time," Tolan said as he watched the swarms of Cylon Raiders appear on the DRADIS.

"Do you want to launch Vipers?" Woods asked.

Tolan thought about it for a moment before shaking his head, "As soon as the FTL is online we're going to jump; I'd rather not risk leaving any of the pilots stranded out there. Alert the ship to prepare to be boarded."

"Best to be ready for that," Woods said before picking up a nearby receiver, "This is the XO; all hands prepare to repel boarders. Resistance fighters, this applies to you also."

"Looks like we've managed to go out of the frying pan and into the fire," Tolan said with a wry smile.

"For what it's worth I'd rather we get away from the Cylons long enough to catch our breath," Woods said and she was glad to see a look in Tolan's eyes that suggested he thought the same.

**Hangar Deck:**

The Vipers had been pushed to the sides to make room for the Raptors and shuttles that had ferried prisoners from Ostarsis. A mix of military and civilian personnel had disembarked and was milling about waiting for the word to pass down on what to do next.

"Did you see where Commander Woods went?" Cadet Sophia Tolen asked the woman standing next to her.

"She went with that other officer to go to the CIC; no word of when they'll return," Neveah Ratliff said.

It was at this time that Woods' call to repel boarders had come over loudspeakers. For some of the escapees it was an added mental stress to go along with what they had already endured with both the preparation for rescue and the rescue itself. The deck crew tried to keep the necessary calm, but it appeared to be to no avail.

Major Darren Clay saw the chaos forming around him and immediately realized he needed to take control before things spiraled too far out of control. He saw his men standing near him seemingly waiting for his next move.

"Blue Bombers, form ranks!" he bellowed in his best 'drill sergeant voice' and was rewarded with the eighty-five men who made up his special forces unit to come to attention and form ranks.

With that done, he promptly climbed up to the top of a nearby ladder and removed one of his pistols from its holster. He aimed it towards the ceiling and pulled the trigger while silently praying there would be no injuries from a ricochet. The last thing he wanted was for his troops to be injured by a stray bullet. He waited as the crowd, stunned into silence by the weapon's discharge, focused its attention on him.

"That is about all I want of that," he began before continuing, "You heard Commander Woods, we need to be ready to repel borders. I know you have been through a lot but look at how far you have made it. We escaped from Ostarsis and now we're in a fight for our survival. Put your training to use once again and fight the Cylons if they manage to board this ship. So say we all!"

Clay slid down the rails of the ladder and his feet hit the deck with a hard thud. He looked and saw one of the Marines coming toward him.

"Are you the officer in charge?" Clay asked.

"Lieutenant Tyron Lyons, I'm in charge of the Marines on this deck," the Marine said as he made his way toward a table where a communications set had been placed.

"Major Darren Clay, Colonial Army, I'm the leader of Delta Force Squadron Five – the Blue Bombers," Clay said with no attempt to hide the pride of being a Special Forces soldier.

"Special Forces, that's impressive," Lyons agreed.

"Not to start an inter-service war but it's more impressive than being a Marine…no offense. Who's in overall command of the Marines?" Clay asked as he kept pace with Lyons.

"Major Esteban Torero, he's in the Marine Combat Center coordinating our defense of the ship," Lyons said as he pushed past a group of civilians a bit more brusquely than normal. Clay's comment had gotten underneath his skin but now was not the time to start over a fight over being insulted.

"How strong is your detachment?"

"We have a full complement of fifteen hundred Marines, if the Cylons board there's a chance that number will go down."

"Here's to hoping that doesn't happen," Clay said. He silently walked with Lyons until the two reached the table where the communications set was located.

"You wait here, when the Major is ready to talk I'll let you know," Lyons said as he picked up the receiver and pressed a series of buttons that connected him to the Combat Center.

Moments later Lyons handed Clay the phone. "He's ready to speak with you."

Wordlessly Clay took the receiver from him. He put it to his ear unsure of what was going to be said, "This is Major Clay."

"Hello, Major, I'm Major Torero; I'm in charge of the Marines on the _Colossus._ Lieutenant Lyons tells me that you are Special Forces. Is that true?"

"That's correct, I have eighty-five soldiers ready to help repel the Cylons if they board," Clay said.

"Are there any other of your escapees who could be of use to us?" Torero asked in his distinctively Tauron-accented voice.

"I don't know exactly how many are on the _Colossus_ but there's enough to put up resistance if needed. I helped train them as best I could. The Cylons didn't make a distinction between military and civilian, so neither did I."

"I understand where you're coming from. Disperse your people to where my people need them, I'll get back to you and let you know where the Cylons might board if they land one of their heavy raiders on the ship."

"I'll be waiting, Clay out."

He put the receiver in its place and turned to Lyons. "We'll wait for him to let us know where we're needed and then we'll join in the fray."

"Sounds like a plan to me, should be interesting to see you Special Forces guys in action," Lyons said.

"You may learn something from watching us; might actually make you a better Marine because of it," Clay said and then he saw two of his lieutenants coming towards him, "Excuse me, Lieutenant."

"What's the word, sir?" Second Lieutenant Adan Ismael asked.

"We're going to reinforce the Marines and repel the Cylons if they try to board, how's the rest of the team?"

"They're ready to go wherever they're needed," First Lieutenant Demarcus Hayes said.

"I know we're ready, I just hope the civilians and the rest of the resistance group is ready for this. You saw how they were when the ship was attacked, they may break and run like a bunch of amateurs," Ismael said.

"I can't blame them too much if they crack under pressure, we didn't exactly treat them with kid gloves in the bunker. We'll just have to do enough damage so that if they run away it won't be noticed," Clay said and in the background, he heard the receiver begin to buzz.

Lyons picked it up and moments later passed it on to Clay.

"What can I do for you, Major?" he asked.

"A heavy raider got through the flak screen and landed on the port flight pod, it looks like they are going to try to enter the ship near the hangar," Torero said with a surprising calm.

"Where do you need us?" Clay asked, his voice had changed now that he knew the Cylons were there. Instead of sounding like some cocksure officer, he now had the voice of a calm professional determined to do his job.

"I need you to take your people over to the Supply Department's Shipping and Receiving Area aft Hangar Bay Three. There are several passageways that lead to that area and it provides the least impeded access to the hangar."

"My people are on it, we'll talk when this is over," Clay said.

"We make it through this I have a bottle of Becknell's Aerilon Whiskey; I promise it's some of the good stuff."

"Have two glasses waiting and we'll toast to kicking these tin-heads off of our ship," Clay said before hanging up the receiver.

"I'm coming with you," Lyons said.

"No you're not," Clay said before adding, "You're needed here on the hangar deck, I want you to have these people ready for to defend themselves against the Cylons if they get past us."

Wordlessly Lyons fell behind and Clay began the process of getting his eighty-five soldiers together so they could defend against the Cylons.

**CIC: **

"Admiral, the Cylons have boarded the ship," Rigel called out from Tactical.

"Damn it, how many got through the flak screen?" Tolan asked, doing his best to hide his irritation.

"Only one Heavy Raider got through and it landed on the port flight pod, the Marines are gathering in strength to repel them," Rigel said.

"That's at least a small consolation," Tolan said and he turned to see Woods on the phone, "What's going on?"

"The Marines aren't the only ones ready to attack the Cylons, we have a Special Forces group that is onboard also and their leader is on the phone with me."

"Wish him luck and see how the repairs are on the FTL."

"Yes, sir," Woods said as she wished Major Clay luck and then got Engineering on the line.

"We can make a jump but it could be risky," Woods said after a few minutes.

"I'd rather risk a jump than stay here and get pounded into oblivion by the Cylons," Tolan said before adding, "Have Rigel to get the jump ready."

Woods nodded and walked over to Tactical to relay the orders.

"I can plot us a jump to the Denebol System," Rigel said.

"Then make it happen," Tolan said sharply, as the impact of an enemy shell caused him to momentarily lose his balance.

Woods returned to Command and Control and looked at Tolan. "Jumping away with the Cylons having boarded us; remind you of a certain ship?"

Tolan allowed a smile to come to his face, "We're not going to be the _Achilles_; we'll have a much happier ending!"

Moments later the _Colossus_ vanished in a flash of light from the Ragan System.

**Viper Supply Storage: **

Clay and his troops had done their best to use the room to their advantage. The containers of parts for the Vipers had been moved around in order to provide cover when the Cylons advanced into the room.

"They're getting closer," Hayes commented.

"Sounds like the Marines are putting up a fight," Ismael said.

"If they break through their line then they fall back here and join with us; then we show them how real fighting is done," Clay said.

"Perhaps the Marines should go ahead and fall back so we could take care of the toasters," Corporal Conner Leeds said.

"That may not be such a bad idea," Clay said as he pondered the idea before coming to a conclusion as to what they would do. "Pass me the wireless!"

Second Lieutenant Luther Keenan ran up to Clay and handed him a wireless device.

"Back to your location," Clay said to Keenan before he activated the wireless and got in touch with the Marine in charge of the group defending the passageway, "Lieutenant Lyons, I want you and your troops to fall back and let the Cylons come to us…I promise they won't get past us."

"What's going on?" Ismael asked.

"The Marine decided it was in his best interest to do what I suggested, let's just leave it at that," Clay said.

There was the sound of footsteps coming down the passageway the Marines came through the hatch and made their way to the other side of the room.

"We're going to be on the other side of the far hatch in case things go south for you," Lyons said when he saw Clay.

"I appreciate the concern but I think we'll be fine without you," Clay said in response.

"I'd rather stay and provide back up if it's all the same to you," Lyons countered.

Clay shot him a sympathetic smile," All right, if it will help you make it through the night and keep your self-esteem from being damaged, then you do that."

Lyons did not say another word to Clay as he led the Marines through the far hatch on the other side of the compartment and closed it perhaps a bit harder than most would have.

Soon they heard the metallic footfalls of the Cylons getting closer.

"Ready weapons," Clay quietly said into the mouthpiece of his helmet.

The Centurions began to enter the room and their red eyes began to survey it to see if there were any targets.

"Fire!" Clay yelled as he emerged from his hiding spot and began firing his high-explosive rounds at the Centurions. The rest of the eighty-plus Blue Bombers also came out of their hiding spaces with their guns blazing. The small force of Centurions did not try to retreat but stood their ground until they had all fallen to the Special Forces soldiers.

"That's why nobody kicks ass like we do," Clay said as he walked over and kicked the inert body of one of the Centurions.

What he could not have known was that this small group of Centurions was a sacrificial group sent to divert their attention from the real goal. When the Heavy Raider had landed on the flight pod, a heavy metal device was attached to one of the access panels. This device would not only be able to hack into the ship's computer systems but it would also serve as a tracking device. When the ship found its way to the hidden Colonial base, the Cylons would be able to pounce and eliminate it and the surviving ships with one battle.

**CIC: **

"I'm receiving word that the Cylon boarding party has been stopped," Woods said and she and Tolan exchanged a relieved smile.

"One problem solved, now what's the status of the FTL?" Tolan said and he braced himself as another impact shook the Colossus. He was honestly not sure how much damage the ship could take. The Titan class had been designed to be massive ships that could take plenty of damage before they were lost. As far as Tolan was concerned, he would prefer not to find out just what the magic number was.

"Still working on it, but the Chief says it should be working soon," Woods said.

"Well if he doesn't get it up and running soon we won't have worry about it before long," Tolan said as he looked up at where the FTL Status screen was located and in red block letters saw the word OFFLINE.

"Perhaps we should launch our Vipers and see if that can take some of the pressure off of us," Woods suggested.

Tolan shook his head. "As soon as we have the FTL drive ready we jump and I cannot afford to leave the pilots behind or take the time to land them before jumping."

"Sir, the FTL is back online. Where do you want to jump to?" Rigel asked.

"Anywhere," Tolan said.

"Are you sure that's going to work?" Woods asked.

"Get us on the far end of the Armistice Line, I doubt the Cylons are too concerned about that area of space anymore," Tolan said and he hoped he was making the right decision.

Moments later the _Colossus_ vanished in a flash of light to a destination where the Cylons would not be likely tofind them.

"Jump complete," Rigel said.

"Good job," Tolan said and he let out a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"That was tense for a moment," Woods said as a relieved smile came over her face.

"Where exactly are we?" Tolan asked Rigel.

"We're in the Malta System," Rigel reported.

"Get me whatever information you have on this system. When that's done I want all reports on our status delivered to my quarters," Tolan said and Rigel nodded her understanding of his orders.

"If you don't mind my saying," Woods began before, "I think it may do you some good to get some rest."

Tolan wanted to argue but thought better of it, "I think a couple of hours would do me some good. Okay but I want to be alerted if something comes up. Before that, I'm going to head to Sickbay for a checkup; I'm not sure just how hard I hit my head on that step earlier."

"Won't be a problem and you're probably right about having the doc check you out," Woods said and when he had left the CIC she turned to Rigel, "I want all communication lines to his quarters deactivated."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rigel asked.

Woods nodded, "I'm sure between planning the attack on Ostarsis, carrying out the attack on Ostarsis, and now having barely escaped from the Cylons, I think it's safe to say that he might be bordering on exhaustion."

"Consider it done," Rigel said as she deactivated the communication lines.

"What do we have here in this system?" Woods asked.

"We have two gas giants, and according to these documents, there is a station located here as well," Rigel said as she examined the information on her console.

Woods walked over and glanced at the data. She saw the display for the gas giants Valletta and Ella along with a brief mention of Malta Station…

"I want us to get in orbit around Valletta, it looks like it's similar to Ragnar and that could be used to our advantage," Woods said as she headed back to Command and Control.

"Communications, send word to division heads that I want reports ready within an hour. Also get me in touch Lieutenant Lamont Evans; he should be on the hangar deck with the rest of the Ostarsis group.

The officer nodded his acknowledgement and went to work carrying out the orders.

Woods looked over the data and was lost in her thoughts when word had come through that Lieutenant Evans was available.

She picked up the receiver out of its cradle and put it to her ear, "Lieutenant Evans, how are things down there on the hangar deck?"

"Things have calmed down but that attack unnerved some of the people, it was getting tense there near the end," he said.

"Right now, we're in the Malta System and we should be safe for the time being, I need you to take a count of people who came up with us so I can give a list to Admiral Tolan. Have Cadet Tolen assist you, it should give her something to do with her free time."

"Copy that, we'll get to work on putting a list together for you. Just so you know, Major Clay and his people have returned from aiding the Marines against the Cylons."

Woods could not help but ask, "How did that go?"

"They destroyed the Cylons, did not lose a man, and are now even more insufferable than they were on Ostarsis. Truth be told, I didn't even think that would be possible."

Woods stifled a laugh. "We'll just have to grin and bear it; at least they're fighting on our side. Let me know when you have that list ready for me."

"Aye, aye," Evans said as the line went dead.

**Hangar Deck: **

Evans put the receiver away and looked towards the mass of people who had come with them from Ostarsis. Some of them were from the resistance cell but others had been liberated from the various prison camps.

"Tolen!" he called out and hoped his voice was loud enough.

"Lieutenant Evans," Cadet Sophia Tolen called out as she made her way towards him.

"I just spoke with Commander Woods; she has a job for us."

Tolen looked at him inquisitively. "What exactly does she want us to do?"

"Make a complete list of the prisoners who came with us from Ostarsis. We can account for the people from the resistance but these prisoners are complete unknowns. A list of the people we have will go a long way in helping both Commander Woods and Admiral Tolan."

Tolen's face flushed. "My family would disown me if they knew I was on the same ship as him."

For her this was a cruel twist of fate. The superior officer of the ship she had escaped Ostarsis on was a part of a long-running family feud. The Tolen/Tolan conflict had its history in the Basileus Crime Syndicate on Canceron. Carl Tolan had originally been born Carl Tolen and when he founded the Basileus he was disowned by the family and thus the family feud had started. The change of the 'e' to an 'a' had only served to cement the outsider status of Carl Tolan and his part of the family.

"I know you're not going to be happy about it but we can't change the situation, are you going to be okay with this or am I going to have to put you in the corner for a timeout until you can play nice?" Evans asked.

Tolen shook her head. "I'll be fine, right now surviving is more important than any hard feelings towards relatives of mine."

"I was hoping you'd see things my way. Let's get started on this. The sooner we start it the sooner we can finish it," Evans said as he walked towards the group with Tolen keeping up behind him.

**Crew Berthing Compartment 0-9-4: **

"Well, boys, welcome to our new home," Clay said as he entered the berthing compartment.

With the various reassignments that had taken place since the _Colossus_ had joined up with the _Victorious_ and its fleet, a portion of its personnel had been transferred to other ships to make up for losses. As a result, several of the ship's berthing compartments were now empty.

"Are you sure we're going to be allowed in here?" Lieutenant Jay Brewer asked as he sat down on one of the racks.

"I'm sure the Major will make sure we don't get evicted," Captain William Story said.

"This is one of those cases where I'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission. Besides, we did them a favor by eliminating the Cylons that boarded the ship," Clay said as he took a seat at the table in the middle of the compartment and put his feet up in a clear attempt to make himself at home.

"You heard the major; go make yourselves at home!" Story called out and the rest of the Blue Bombers began to do just that.

"We did well out there today, not that I'm all that surprised," Clay said.

Story took a seat at the table. "It's not like the Cylons were that much of a threat. We just hit them with the high explosive rounds and they went down without much of a fight."

"That was an interesting thing," Clay said, "The ones we encountered on Ostarsis were more aggressive and they damn sure had more numbers than what we saw in that compartment."

"I take it your famed gut instinct is trying to tell you something," Story said.

Clay nodded, "I'm all for scoring an easy kill, especially when you look at how hard we trained when Ostarsis was occupied. There is something about a kill being too easy that doesn't sit right with me."

"Are you sure you're not over thinking the whole thing?"

Clay thought it over and shook his head. "I've replayed whole thing in my mind and it doesn't sit well. I'm starting to wonder if perhaps the Cylons intentionally sent those Centurions to be gunned down as a sort of diversion."

Story laughed. "You think the Cylons would sacrifice their own Centurions?"

"It's almost like a game of strategy; you throw a token force out there to be killed and it serves as a diversion for a bigger part of your plan."

"All right, what do you think would this bigger plan be?" Story asked.

"Damned if I know right now, but it's something I want to figure out," Clay admitted.

"Are you going to go talk to Commander What's-Her-Name?" Story asked.

Clay chuckled. "That would be Commander Woods and I will have a word with her once things have settled down a bit. Right now the Cylons aren't trying to blow us up so I think some time to breathe is in order."

**Two Hours and Sixteen Minutes Later:**

**Commanding Officer's Office: **

Woods looked around the office that had once belonged to Commander Dorian Mercer and she was unable to hold back at shudder. The report had come in from Sickbay thirteen minutes ago that Commander Mercer had still in surgery getting much needed medical attention for his injuries. The prognosis for him was grim but there was a chance he would recover. His XO, Colonel Wong, was in ICU and there no telling when she would regain consciousness. She had just finished her meeting with the department heads and she saw the reactions on their faces when she had announced that disheartening piece of news at the end. It seemed that after eight months there was still a place for the loss of their superior officers to have an effect on them.

She thought back to the status of both Commander Mercer and Colonel Wong and whether or not the doctor was being overly optimistic about the odds of the two officers recovering.

'Is it a question of 'When' or 'If' she regains consciousness…' she thought bitterly.

She looked around the office and saw that Mercer had decorated it with a bit of Colonial Fleet history and his own personal touches. Mixed with photos from previous ships that had borne the name _Colossus_ were pictures of people who Woods believed were either members of the Mercer family or close friends.

How many of them had survived the attacks? She could not help but ask herself if there were any still alive who would mourn the death of Commander Mercer if he didn't make it. She was sure the crew would be upset over the loss of the commanding officer but on a personal level who would be hit hard by his loss.

She also thought of her quarters of the _Kios_, and she wondered what the fate was of her ship and her personal belongings. The Cylons had shut down the ship's power and then boarded it. She was taken prisoner along with other members of her crew but she was not sure what the ultimate fate was for the _Kios_ and the rest of her crew.

"You look like you're deep in thought," a man's familiar voice said from the hatch.

"You look as smug and self-assured as ever," Woods said to Clay when he entered the room.

"There are so many words I thought you'd use to describe me but 'smug' was not one of them," he said as he took a seat and leafed through a stack of reports.

"Considering what happened in the last day, you'll forgive me if I ask you exactly why it is you came here to see me. The last thing I need is to deal with your Special Forces brand of arrogance," she said a bit more testily than she had intended.

"I know you've had a long day and because of our previous working relationship I'll let that one slide," Clay said before continuing, "I've had that engagement with the Cylon boarding party running through my mind. Afterwards I lay in my rack in our new berthing compartment; you do intend to let us keep that right?"

She shot him a quizzical look. "Think about the way you've acted towards me since we first met and then decide if I will honestly do that for you."

"Well my troops and I did repel a Cylon boarding party."

Woods shook her head before saying, "I suppose it won't harm the ship if you and your people take over a berthing compartment."

Clay slapped his hand against the table's surface, "I knew you were a woman who could be reasoned with! Besides before your friend Admiral Tolan called it a night I went by his quarters and had a word with him. Believe it or not, he's a very likeable person in my opinion. The point is that he approved my request, asking you was simply a formality."

"Uh-huh, now why did you come here?"

"That boarding party I mentioned was light compared to what we encountered on Ostarsis, something tells me that those Centurions did not make up a realistic boarding party."

"So you think that the Cylons sent the Centurions as a decoy force of some kind and hoped we wouldn't notice in the fog of war?"

Clay nodded his head, "You see, I knew being around me in that bunker would make you smarter!"

"Make me smarter?" Woods asked with thinly-veiled sarcasm.

"What I meant was that you gained some tactical expertise from working with me. Enough about that, I think the Cylons were up to something and sent those Centurions to take our eyes off of it."

Woods was willing to concede that he had a point. "I have the ship being scoured for any signs of Cylon tampering. I'll have extra attention focused on the areas where they landed and boarded the ship."

"That should be a decent start, but I'd also have the computer systems checked as well," Clay added.

"I remember something about a person telling me in uncertain terms that I had no business dictating operations on land because I trained to serve in space."

"Commander, I honestly didn't think you would remember that conversation. Are you telling me to mind my own business and let you work?"

"Not exactly; just remember that I know my way around a battlestar. While I appreciate your input, I don't want you to act as if I have no idea what I'm doing. After all we're on a battlestar and not on Ostarsis."

"Point made, I suppose I can't order you around like I did before. I promise to try to give your ideas and plans a little more credibility than I did before…fair enough?

Woods allowed herself to smile, "That's fair enough, Clay, and for the record I was glad that you were able to stop those Cylons."

"It was all in a day's work for me and my men. So…what do the reports say?"

"We took a pounding from the Cylons, no doubt about that, but as for how many people we lost all together…there's no exact count just yet. They hurt us but we're far from being finished."

"At least there's a silver lining to this cloud, I'm going to go tell my guys that we can stay in our new lodging," Clay said as he turned to leave the room.

"Major Clay," Woods called out. When he turned around she said, "Thank you for all you did, I know I'll never forget what all you did for us."

Clay smiled. "A pleasure to be of assistance, Commander Woods."

When he left the room, she closed the hatch and sat down to read the reports again. Copies were being sent to Admiral Tolan's quarters for him to read. Their situation was far from ideal but they could survive it with a little skill and luck.

**Nine Hours Later: **

**Admiral's Quarters: **

The _Colossus_ was safe for the time being. Hopefully, that the Cylons would not be able to find them while they made further repairs to their damaged FTL drive. If they were to survive, then it was important that it be in optimal condition.

He had awaken from his slumber not too long ago and he checked the time and saw he had slept for nine hours

A buzzing sound signaled that someone wanted to enter. He walked over to the hatch and pressed the button that opened the hatch.

The hatch swung opened and Woods entered the room,. "I see you've awakened. Did the sleep help? Ensign Whitfield came to me with the idea. We agreed that you could use some rest. When I knew you were going to rest I had all communication lines to your quarters deactivated."

Tolan took a seat at his table and ran a hand over his head. "I understand why you did it, and truthfully, I needed the rest. Not the first time I've found myself dealing with post-combat fatigue."

She took a seat on the opposite side of the table, "I guess that's something you've had a lot of experience with the last eight months."

"True enough, and looking at the reports that were delivered here the news isn't looking any brighter for us," Tolan said as he gestured to a set of reports that had been delivered to his quarters while he was asleep.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Woods asked. She was not sure if he would want to speak to her or go over the reports on the Cylons tracking device that had been discovered attached to the flight pod where the Cylon Heavy Raider had landed.

Tolan let out a deep breath. "I suppose there aren't many good times these days."

"It's not completely bad; we're still alive."

Tolan smiled at her. "Perhaps that is a positive but right now we're one ship out here fighting with no support, trying to keep the Cylons from finding us. We have a device attached to our hull that we don't know the first thing about except that it is probably bad news for us somehow. I don't know Bridget; it seems about as hopeless as your situation on Ostarsis. Weren't there times when you felt like you were done? Truth of the matter is that sometimes you're just done."

She took a moment before asking, "What's going on with you Scott?"

"I've been fighting a lop-sided battle for survival for eight long months. I'm sure many would say I've sacrificed more than most should have to in order to accomplish my goals. I look at what happened at Ostarsis and I have to wonder if I sacrificed too much," Tolan said as he thought about all the ships and personnel that had been lost in the recent battle.

She was quiet but the look on her face suggested that she was holding back on what she wanted to say to him.

Finally, Tolan said, "We've been friends too long to mince words. What are you not telling me?"

Woods talked as though the floodgates had been opened, "Don't lecture me on sacrifice. I've given so much of myself since this war started that I'm not even sure who I am anymore! As for the situation we're in, keep in mind that you have an entire crew that's just as angry and worried as you are. You are as human as they come, Scott, but right now, you are shutting out everyone who can help you. I can tell it's having an effect on the crew. If you want these people to fight for you against these odds then you have to make them believe you are worth following. This isn't as it would have been on the _Victorious_ where you'd already established yourself among the crew. This is new territory for you and the last thing you need is for your crew to give up on you because if that happens then we're as good as dead."

"Good to know that I have you here to keep me from losing focus," Tolan said before adding, "You really didn't hold back just now."

Woods shrugged. "I suppose I can't help but worry about you."

Tolan nodded. "We're up against some steep odds this time. What happens if we don't make it?"

Woods got out of her chair and walked over to him. "Then we don't win, but we at least go down fighting."

"I've been carrying the weight of all twelve worlds on my shoulders; it's been some time since I actually had a chance to do something normal."

"You just need a little reminding every now and then. Come on, the reports can wait," she said as she took his hands and led him from the table to a spot in middle of the room.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"There are not exactly a lot of places on a battlestar suited for relaxation so I thought I'd improvise," she said as she walked over to a nearby radio and selected a slow song.

"You realize we haven't danced since the night we first met," he said to her.

"Now what you need to do is let me really remind you of how it feels to relax and enjoy life," she said as she put her arms around his shoulders, "Thank you for keeping your word to me."

"I meant it when I said I would come for you," Tolan replied as he began to feel the pent-up stress that he had been carrying inside start to dissipate.

"All those months on Ostarsis and I wondered if I would get off that miserable rock," Woods said and the two began to slow dance to the music.

It was at that time that his mind registered exactly what they were heading towards and he pulled away from her, "Sorry, Bridget, this is really not the time or place for any of this. Thank you for coming by to talk to me, I'm going to read over these reports before it's time for my watch in the CIC."

"All right," she said as she turned and left the room.


	2. Chapter 2: The Morning After

**Chapter Two: The Morning After**

**Admiral's Quarters:**

Fleet Admiral Scott Tolan stared at his surroundings and began to wonder just what lay ahead for him. He had left his office and had taken a seat in his quarters for a moment of solace before he was due to arrive in the CIC. With Commander Dorian Mercer and Colonel Anna Wong both incapacitated by injuries sustained in the last battle with the Cylons, it had fallen to him and Commander Bridget Woods to assume the roles of CO and XO of the _Colossus_.

He had never been in this situation before. Even when the Cylons had attacked, he had most of his battle group with him along with the decommissioned battlestars _Athena _and _Ares_. At least he had the numbers to fight off the Cylons when they did find him. If he desired he could even commit to a small offensive.

Now was different, and he was not sure if it was something he would be particularly fond of. He had the _Colossus_ and that was all; there was no other ship to assist him against the Cylons. He would eventually get his bearings and decide on a course of action; now was not the time for him to let indecision get the better of him. Being a flag officer in a time of war, you had to make a decision and give the appearance that you knew exactly what you were doing even if you just half-guessing and half-praying for success.

He looked over at the section of his quarters where he had placed most of the personal mementos from his life. He walked over to the desk and shelving that held the items that brought memories from his life before the Cylons had come and turned the worlds upside-down. He looked at the framed Canceron Hydras flag and he remembered the conversation he had with his wife Emily about it. They had spent most of the last six years living on Caprica and she had hoped he would switch his loyalties over to the Caprica Buccaneers but he told her that he could not do such a thing. He was born and raised on Canceron and he had grown up supporting the Hydras, especially since the Tolan family owned a forty-nine percent stake in the team, and he wanted to stay that way even if he was living on Caprica.

He heard footsteps approach and the door to his office open; it was enough to keep his thoughts from going to Emily and the kids.

"Admiral, have I come at a bad time?" Ensign Lucien Whitfield asked.

Tolan turned and smiled at his Chief-of-Staff. "Not at all, Whitfield; what brings you here?" It was in moments such as this that he was glad his mind could not be read. His mind was swimming with a mixture of thoughts and emotions regarding their current predicament. He was putting on his best public face and hoping that it would serve to hide the doubts he had running through his mind about the situation they were in.

Whitfield held up a stack of several large brown envelopes, "The rest of the reports have come in; these have more exact numbers of injured and casualties."

"Put them on the desk," Tolan said. When Whitfield had done so, he asked, "Any word on what shape the ship is in?"

"From what I've read and observed it's safe to say the Cylons did a number on us. If I may be so bold, we may not have gone down, but the Cylons put us on the ropes."

"If you don't mind the interruption, I thought I'd come by," a man's voice said from the hatchway.

Both men turned and Tolan recognized Wilfred Parker, the _Colossus_' chaplain, standing with a copy of the Sacred Scrolls.

Tolan was the first one to react. "Chaplain Parker, feel free to come in and have a seat. Mister Whitfield is welcome to say if he so desires."

"I just wanted to let you know that I have been visited by some of the crew and I've been trying to do what I can to alleviate their fears, I believe word has gotten around as to just how close we were to not making it," Parker said.

"I would prefer to focus on the fact that we did make it," Whitfield immediately said.

"There's a strong sense of fatalism out there, I think after everything this ship and its crew has been through that we could be closing in on a point where they may have endured too much," Parker said. He turned to a section of the Sacred Scrolls. "I was wondering if you would have a problem with me selecting the verses from the Scrolls that are to be read during the memorial service."

Tolan thought it over for a moment before he said, "I don't have a problem with that; I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something to help raise morale."

"Thank you, Admiral, and if you ever need my services you know how to find your way to the chapel," Parker said as he turned to leave the room.

"Thank you for all you have done for us, Father, and if I need a word of prayer I'll be sure to let you know," Tolan said and waited until the hatch had closed behind the chaplain before he turned to Whitfield. "Is there anything of interest I need to know about?"

"The deck gang discovered a Cylon device attached to the port flight pod at a data access point. They're not sure what it's doing but if it's from the Cylons then it certainly can't be good for us," Whitfield said as he passed a report to Tolan dealing with the device.

"You won't hear me argue that point. Until we know exactly what it's doing I think we need to stay away from the fleet."

Whitfield looked as though he was debating what to say. "Permission to speak freely."

"Granted," Tolan said and he wondered what he was about to hear.

"Sir, I think your decision may have more to do with Commander Woods than it does with our safety."

Tolan's eyebrows arched in surprise. "Let me see if I'm getting this right, you think I'm more interested in staying away from the fleet because of Commander Woods?"

"Scuttlebutt had it that the two of you were involved previously and that it was a driving force behind the mission to Ostarsis. I didn't put a lot of faith in the rumor until she kissed you in the CIC. Admiral, do I need to remind you that you have a family that is wondering if you're dead or alive?"

"Of course you don't have to remind me of that," Tolan quickly said and a part of him had wondered if that voice in the back of his mind was correct. Was it true that he did the whole rescue operation just because of Bridget; did he throw away all of those lives and ships just so he could rescue one woman? He knew he would have to answer one day. Did he really want to sit down and come to terms with such a thing?

"Of course, sir, I didn't mean to offend you," Whitfield quickly offered.

Tolan shook his hand and put a reassuring hand on Whitfield's shoulder, "You didn't offend me. Between the two of us I have to wonder if there is a small kernel of truth to that rumor."

"I would have dismissed it if someone had told me that, but I saw her kiss you and I had to wonder," Whitfield said.

"How old are you?" Tolan asked.

"Twenty-five sir. I'm sure you've read my file."

Tolan nodded. "You'll turn twenty-six in three months, you were born on Libran, and you attended Aquaria Military even though you had scholarship offers from both Abry and the Fleet Academy. Your first assignment was to Fleet Command. You served there until you were assigned to the _Helios,_ and Admiral Sakura recommended you to serve as my Chief-of-Staff. The point is that even when you get older there will still be things out there that are hard to explain."

Whitfield thought about it before asking, "So the fact that Commander Woods kissed you the moment she saw is something that is hard to explain?"

"Commander Woods is someone from my past and even though I have a beautiful wife and three wonderful children, I don't think she and I ever truly moved on from one another," Tolan said and he felt as though he unburdening a bit of his soul.

"I hope you didn't mind my prying, Admiral," Whitfield said after a silence had fallen.

"Nothing to worry about, sometimes I think it's important in your position to be willing to ask questions that most officers wouldn't think of asking."

"Thank you. I need to make my way back to the CIC. Is there anything you need from me?"

"I need you to be in charge of the operation in the Flag CIC. With Commander Mercer in a coma, I'm going to need to assume command of the _Colossus_. Keep me apprised of anything that comes in at that I need to know. You're dismissed," Tolan said.

"Aye, aye, sir," Whitfield said as he made his exit.

**Twelve Minutes Later: **

**CIC: **

"Anything to report," Tolan asked when he stepped up to the Command and Control Station.

"Nothing of note, right now repairs are very much a work in progress but the good news is that it looks like the FTL drive is close to being fully operational again. The Chief says that whatever we did to it in that last jumped did a number on it," Commander Bridget Woods said.

"The repairs are something I had already figured on but the FTL being almost ready is a blessing I'll be more than happy to take," Tolan said.

"We also got an encrypted message from out in the Tartaro System," Woods said as she passed Tolan a communiqué.

"Is this all we've been able to decode so far?" he asked.

"It's a code used by the Ministry of Intelligence, which may explain why it's so heavily encrypted," Woods offered.

Tolan looked and could make out the words 'Tartaro System', 'Kyros Station', 'Hagan', and 'Mytus Asteroid Belt'. The fact that it was the MoI sent a chill down his spine, so far in the time he had worked with them he had been burned more than once. He thought it over for a minute before he made his decision.

"When we have gotten as far as we can on the repairs, we'll jump in and investigate. Any more traffic I need to be made aware of?"

"There was a Code Green sent from Picon. The problem is that we're not sure if it's just an automated system, or if it's the real thing. It might be something worth investigating," Woods said.

"We'll get to that one in time, but I'm curious as to what the MoI is up to. There's something I have to check, though," Tolan said as he took the copy of the message and brought it over to Tactical.

"Admiral Tolan, sir, what can I help you with?" Lieutenant Lamont Evans asked when he saw Tolan.

"I need you to run a search for the words we've managed to decode from this message; any information you can gather from the database could be helpful to us," Tolan said as he handed Evans the message.

"I should have that to you within the next few minutes," Evans said as he began to enter the keywords into the database search.

"Excellent," Tolan said before asking, "I meant to ask, are you by chance related to a Sasha Evans?

Evans raised an eyebrow quizzically. "She's a cousin of mine. Her father is my mom's brother; the thing is that she grew up on Caprica while my family moved to Virgon so we only saw one another on the important holidays or other family get-togethers. She had her life and I had mine. Is there a reason why?"

"Your cousin is very much alive back in the fleet; in fact she is under the personal protection of Magnus Ah-Mun and the Eastern Alliance."

Evans had to stifle a surprised shout, "What exactly led to that?"

"She was a part of Hector Alonzo's staff once he took over the leadership of the civilian fleet we assembled. She was exiled along with him and his people once we discovered he was collaborating with the Cylons. It would appear she was captured by the Eastern Alliance and Ah-Mun was so taken with her that he offered to keep her safe," Tolan explained.

"You somehow went along with this?" Evans asked though his tone showed how skeptical he was.

"At the rate things were going at the time I needed every last ounce of firepower I could get my hands on to use against the Cylons. I was not about to look a well-armed horse in the mouth," he said.

The computer finished its search and Evans printed out the results for Tolan to look at. "I only used the important information that I could find; better to stick with the facts and avoid the conspiracy theories."

Tolan took the paper and began to scan over the information that had been provided. The basics about the Mytus Asteroid Belt being a dense cluster of asteroids that most pilots chose to go around instead of attempting to pass through or near it. The more he read about the belt the more he realized there was nothing in either that he did not already know or had heard of at some point in the past.

The interesting material involved Kyros Station. It apparently had been a facility that the Ministry of Intelligence operated until eight years ago when it was decommissioned for a reason that was not specified other than the ubiquitous 'Budget Cuts'. Tolan pondered this and wondered if there was something more to this story. Could it be possible that the MoI was still running the station or had it been appropriated for some unknown use? His mind went back six years to the mission that he led to rescue President Adar's sister and niece. The Sagittarian Liberation Army and the Erebea had appropriated an unused base for their purposes. Could this be a similar situation?

He found something on the search for _Hagan_. It appeared that the name matched a Colonial Fleet frigate. The frigate_ Hagan_ belonged to the Minerva class and was under the command of Colonel Jerrod Stokes. According to the report on the ship's movements it had been deployed to the Mytus Asteroid Belt in order to search for possible smugglers. Now the image was starting to come to his mind of the Colonel Stokes and crew coming across the abandoned station for one reason or another. Could they have figured out a way to send a distress signal or could the Cylons have found them?

"You look deep in thought," Woods said as she walked over to Tactical.

"I'm trying to make sense of this information and I don't know if I'm over thinking it or just reading this the wrong way. The more I think about it the more questions I end up with," Tolan admitted.

"I think we'll need to jump there and find out exactly what is going on so that we can decide if you misread the information or simply reading far more into this than there actually is," Woods said before turning to head back to Command and Control.

"I can't argue with that," Tolan said before heading back to Woods to work through the reports from the department heads before the _Colossus_ was ready to jump.

"What are you thinking?" Woods asked once Tolan had returned to Command and Control.

"I have a hard time believing that there are any more Colonial Fleet units out there," he said.

"Do you think every last ship left out there answered your distress call?" she asked.

"A part of me says that it has to be the case but then again maybe there were some ships that either didn't hear the call or chose not to believe it was authentic," Tolan said.

"I suppose there is only one way to find out," Woods said with a nod of her head toward the phone receiver sitting in its cradle.

"Indeed," Tolan said as he picked up the receiver and entered the number to connect to Main Engineering.

"Engelhart," the man on the other end of the phone said in his distinct Caprican accent.

"This is Admiral Tolan; how are the repairs going on the FTL?" Tolan asked. He had been on the _Colossus_ long enough to get a general idea of how Major Gustav Engelhart ran the Engineering Division. He gathered that the man knew his way around the engine room and had a good grasp of what a ship of this size was capable of doing.

"Well, sir, I have my best technicians running some final calibration tests before I say that the FTL is ready to use but that shouldn't take too much longer. However, you know you cannot rush these things. It would be like launching your Viper out of the tube without properly securing the canopy. It could end up creating one giant mess."

"Duly noted, just be sure to send word as soon as you feel safe about us using the FTL," Tolan said before putting the receiver back into its cradle.

"Judging by the look on your face I take it the news wasn't all that great," Woods said.

"You know me well," Tolan said before exhaling a deep breath, "He wants to make sure that the FTL is completely repaired and ready to be used. I can't say I blame him, but at the same time I'm eager to get on the move again."

"It's nice to see that eight months have war hasn't changed everything about you," Woods said with a smile.

"It's the kind of thing I'd have never imagined back during that year I was in charge of the Bureau of Ships. If the Cylons had attacked then I'd have been stuck behind a desk instead of being out here in space."

"You're a Viper jock to the core, always wanting to be where the action is," she teased.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Tolan countered.

"If Artimus were here he would probably tell you that it is a bad thing when it comes to you flyboys," Woods said and when she saw the brief look of sadness come over Tolan's face she asked, "I take it you haven't heard anything regarding _Hermes_."

Tolan shook his head. "I prefer to think that no news is good news. It's something that Emily, Lacey, and Brooke prefer to think he's not dead."

"He was a good friend, Scott; I know that underneath that Viper vs. Raptor teasing between the two of you was a genuine friendship."

Tolan was quiet for a few moments before he finally said, "I've thought of all the friends and family I lost and I don't know if it's just me being selfish but I'd rather have Artimus be one of those who survived."

"Gods know that if you hadn't had come then my people and I would have died. I just know the Cylons would have eventually found us."

"I had a promise to keep to you and I wasn't going to let the Cylons stop me from keeping it."

Woods smiled at him. "You promised that if I ever needed your help you would find a way to be there to rescue me. I'm grateful for that; I just don't want the cost of keeping the promise to be too high."

"That's something you don't have to dwell on, the fact is that you were rescued and the people you were protecting also got rescued," Tolan said hoping that would put the topic to rest.

"Speaking of which, there is one person onboard who may not be too happy to see you," Woods said as she mentally tried to find the right words to phrase whom she was about to tell him about.

Tolan arched an eyebrow and asked, "Is this someone I'm going to regret having onboard?"

"Well she's a cadet from the Academy and she's definitely related to you by blood…"

"Sophia Tolen is on my ship. We'll see once and for all if the family feud has been put to rest," Tolan said with a wry smile.

Woods was stunned. "How did you know she is here?"

"Lacey kept me apprised of anyone at the Academy I might be interested in knowing about. Sophia being a cousin of ours fell into that category. Lacey may have had President Adar appoint her to the Academy but Sophia's family was friends with Admiral Robert Wilson. Having a friendship with a four-star bought Sophia a lot of leeway at the school."

"Well, now she's on your battlestar, and I did have a talk with her about a situation just like this. I just hope it works out because I think the time spent on Ostarsis helped her to grow as a person," Woods said.

"I'm not going to fight the war between our sides of the family while we're fighting for our lives; that's the last thing from my mind right now."

The phone began to ring and Tolan quickly picked it up. "This is the admiral."

"Sir," Engelhart's voice said over the phone, "the FTL is calibrated and ready for you to use."

"Good work, remind me to put you and your people in for an extra ration of ambrosia tonight," Tolan said before putting the receiver away.

"Good news, I hope," Woods said.

"We are about to go investigate a genuine Ministry of Intelligence base, just think of all the photos we can take on the tour!"

"Mister Evans, enter the coordinates for the Tartaro System and prepare the ship for jump," Tolan ordered Evans.

In less than a minute the _Colossus_ vanished in a flash of light as it made its FTL jump to the Tartaro System.

**Tartaro System: **

**CIC: **

"Jump complete," Evans announced as he checked the initial readings on the _Colossus_' DRADIS.

"Anything that stands out?" Tolan asked.

Evans shook his head. "So far nothing of note, but that could be because the asteroid belt is making it hard to find what we're looking for."

"We may want to get a Raptor or Viper out there to investigate further," Woods offered.

Tolan nodded his head, "That was what I was thinking too."

"Mister Evans, send word to the CAG that we need two Raptors launched ASAP for a recon mission," Woods ordered the Tactical Officer before turning to Tolan, "Sorry, with the Admiral's permission of course."

"Aye aye, admiral?" Evans said confused at whether to obey Woods or get Tolan's approval.

Tolan chuckled, "I think you may have had command for too long."

Woods looked slightly embarrassed. "I may have to get used to the idea of being an XO again."

"I think you'll find I can overlook things of that nature, but as soon as I can find you a battlestar to command I'm putting you in charge," Tolan said.

"DRADIS contact!" Evans called out as a contact appeared on the _Colossus_' DRADIS display.

"Sir, I'm receiving a hostile challenge," Ensign Angela Rigel announced.

"If that's the_ Hagan_ then you have to wonder why they're challenging us," Woods said as she tried to keep the amusement out of her voice. It seemed a bit strange to have a frigate challenging a battlestar.

"Let's humor them a little," Tolan said before turning his attention to Rigel, "Put their message through the speakers."

The speakers at Command and Control crackled before a man's voice was heard saying, "To the unidentified vessel off of our starboard bow: this is the Colonial Frigate _Hagan_. Identify yourself or you will be fired upon."

"Is he serious?" Woods said as she tried to hold back a laugh.

"Now let's not get carried away here, for all we know the ship may have some weapon that could put a dent in our armor," Tolan said before turning his attention to Rigel, "Open a channel to the_ Hagan_."

When she had done so he took the receiver out of its cradle and put it to his ear, "_Hagan_, this is Admiral Tolan on the Battlestar _Colossus_, with whom am I speaking?"

There was a brief silence before a man's voice came over the speaker, "This is Commander Jerrod Stokes. If you are Admiral Tolan, how come you're not on the _Victorious_?"

"I don't know if he's going to be patient enough to hear the whole story," Woods said.

"Commander Stokes, that is something that I will have to explain when we have more time; for now you will just have to believe me when I tell you that I am who I say I am."

"I'm sure you can forgive my skepticism and send me the recognition codes," Stokes demanded.

"You first," Tolan replied.

"Admiral, I'm receiving recognition codes. They're authentic!" Rigel exclaimed.

Tolan nodded. "Excellent, transmit our recognition codes so the good Commander Stokes can stop being paranoid."

"I guess the question is do we invite them over to our house or do we go over to theirs?" Woods asked.

Tolan mulled it over for a minute before he said, "I think that we have a lot more room here on the _Colossus_, I think it's about time we had some company over."

"Sounds like a plan but if you expect me to dress up and play hostess you have another thing coming," she teased.

"Well there goes that idea I had going through my head, but I at least expect you to join me when I have a talk with Stokes," Tolan said before turning his attention to Rigel. "Inform Commander Stokes that I would like for him to meet with me. He can bring over whatever officers he wishes and if he has no Raptor available then I can have one arranged to pick him up."

**Thirty-Five Minutes Later: **

_**Colossus**_**, Admiral's Conference Room: **

Tolan and Woods had received word from the hangar that the Raptor containing the contingent from the _Hagan _had arrived on the hangar deck. Now all that was left to do was wait for their guests to arrive so that they could start getting their questions answered.

"Who's escorting them here?" Woods asked.

"Lieutenant Siana Aderyn from Tactical, with Lieutenant Evans in charge of CIC. I wanted to get someone else to serve as escort," Tolan said as he read over a set of reports over the _Hagan_'s deployments before the Cylons attacked.

"He's come a long way since he first reported to _Victorious_," Woods said.

"Gods I hope so, I remember that he seemed worried about asking for help. We finally had to sit him down and talk to him. You'd have thought he'd have never thought that it's all right to ask for help if you need it."

"He got better on the_ Kios_ and when we were stranded on Ostarsis he was as vital to our survival as any of the others I relied upon," Woods said as she took a report off of the table and read over it, "Looks like the Commander ran into some trouble with an unknown group a few years ago."

Tolan nodded. "That was when he was in command of Patrol Group 58, a handful of patrol frigates that was tasked with patrolling the Baylor System. They ran into a group of cargo ships and before they could investigate further all of the ships lost power."

Woods;"Did it say what happened afterwards? It's not anywhere on this paper."

"There was an inquiry into the matter but ultimately Stokes was cleared of any wrongdoing on his part. Seeing how he was promoted and given command of a frigate, I'd have to wonder if he had some friends in high places."

Woods immediately said, "The same thing people say about you."

He gave her a quizzical look. "Is there something you're aware of that I'm not?"

Before she could answer the door opened and in walked Lieutenant Aderyn accompanying a group of four officers.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, you may return to your duties," Tolan said to Aderyn.

"Thank you, sir," she said as she turned and left the room.

"Admiral Tolan, Commander Jerrod Stokes reporting as ordered," Stokes said as he saluted the admiral.

Tolan returned the salute. "At ease, Commander, you and your people can have a seat. With me is my XO, Commander Bridget Woods."

"Commander Stokes, I'm glad that you and your officers were able to meet with us."

Stokes nodded, "When your presence is requested by a flag officer it's hard to refuse. With me is Colonel Darren Ellsworth, my XO, Major Dominica Labuan, my Tactical Officer, and Lieutenant Michael Stafford, my Communications Officer."

When the officers had taken their seats it was Tolan who spoke first, "Care to tell me what you're doing in this system and what is on that station?"

Stokes wasted no time in responding, "With all due respect, sir, the answer to both is 'No' and it is well above your pay grade."

"That's funny, a Commander telling an Admiral something like that. I suppose I can humor you for just a moment before I inform that I have been promoted to the rank of Fleet Admiral and for all intents and purposes that means nothing is above my pay grade."

"By whose authority? From where I get my information from you're still a Rear Admiral. " Stokes countered.

"Admiral Kronus and that should be good enough for you. Tell me, Commander, why the wall of silence?"

"Sir, I do not know you personally but I know of you by reputation and that does not give me much of a reason to trust you. I should also remind you that my ship was equipped with Corsair missiles," Stokes said and he saw the look of recognition on Tolan's face, "I see you've heard of them, specifically designed to take out a ship the size of a battlestar. Considering your family history I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

Tolan nodded, "Does this have something to do with the Basileus?"

Woods, "I would like to interject; Admiral Tolan has never been involved with the Basileus over the course of his military career."

"With all due respect Commander Woods I have different information. I have reliable intel that proves that Admiral Tolan delivered a shipment of weapons to the Erebea and the Sagittarian Liberation Army while in command of the Battlestar _Vanguard_," Stokes said and gave Tolan a look that seemed to dare him to argue.

"I have thought about those days in almost seven years," Tolan said before adding, "That was a cover for a Ministry of Intelligence mission that I was asked to take part in. The weapons I supposedly delivered to them were both useless and defective so they was never any danger."

Stokes was quiet for a moment before he said, "I see; I'm not quite sure I believe that but for now I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I will have to consult with the Brigadier before I continue this conversation."

Tolan arched an eyebrow, "The Brigadier, who might this be?"

Stokes sighed and said, "Brigadier General Audric Gauthier is currently on the station and he is in charge of the overall operations at the station."

Before Tolan could respond Woods said, "You're telling me that War Hawk is on that station?"

Tolan quickly asked, "Would someone inform me why General Gauthier is known as 'War Hawk'?

Woods said, "When he was a Major he was the XO for the 478th Infantry Brigade out of Fort Montauck. During maneuvers in the Hebron Jungle the brigade was attacked by units of the Sagittarian Liberation Army. The CO was killed and Gauthier took command. He not only led the remnants of the brigade out of the jungle but he also managed to inflict casualties on the SLA forces. From that day on he was known as 'War Hawk'."

"Sounds like someone I could use at a time like this," Tolan said.

Stokes responded with. "I'll have to talk to his XO to arrange a meeting, it's going to take some time."

"Who is the Brigadier's XO?" Tolan asked.

"Lieutenant Colonel Katsu Munemori, he can relay your request to General Gauthier and we can see what happens from there."

"In case word hasn't gotten to him yet you may want to relay the fact that we're at war with the Cylons. That may go a long way to thawing these negotiations," Tolan said.

Stokes was quiet before he said, "We had heard reports of that but thought it may have been some kind of trick."

"I can assure you, Commander it's no trick, the Cylons came back with a vengeance. I can't say exactly how many survivors are out there but there can't be many of them," Tolan said.

"If you'll allow me to go back to the base and relay this information, I can arrange a visit by you and your people," Stokes said as he and his officers stood to leave the room.

Tolan and Woods each stood and exchanged handshakes with the _Hagan_'s officers.

"I should go to the CIC," Woods said.

Tolan nodded. "Not a bad idea, I need to make a couple of stops but then I'll come join you.

"Care to fill me in on where you're going?" she asked, and judging by the look on Tolan's face she wondered whether it was best for her to know.

"I'm going to swing by the chapel and when that's done I'm going to go pay a visit to Major Clay. I think we're going to need his assistance," Tolan started as he headed for the door.

"What is this 'We' business you're talking about?"

Tolan turned and faced her. "I'm not about to go over there by myself. You, the Major, and a handful of his troops are coming with me for the ride. Don't tell me you left your sense of adventure back on Ostarsis?"

"Well then I guess when you're ready just come and find me in the CIC," she said and watched as Tolan left the room and headed aft.

_**Colossus**_**, Junior Officers Wardroom: **

"Okay Sia, tell me everything you know," Lieutenant Casmir Kaczmarek said to Aderyn once he was certain there were none of the other officers nearby.

"Just between you and me I don't think they trust any of us," she said as she took a sip of the hot coffee in her mug.

"I'm going to need more than that to tell our friends in Tactical," he said and he hoped that there would be something juicier to her story.

"I tried to engage their Commander in conversation but after a series of one word answers I gave up," she saw the look Kaczmarek's face and added, "However they had no qualms about talking amongst themselves. They must have thought I wasn't paying attention to them but I heard plenty about this station they've been guarding."

His face lit up."You're telling me that they are here to guard this base?"

She nodded. "It seems that they've been here for months guarding this base to make sure no unauthorized personnel got within range of it."

"I heard through scuttlebutt that they issued a hostile challenge to us; makes you wonder if they'd have actually fired on us."

Aderyn shrugged her shoulders, "They may very well have but if they had it would have been a short fight. Putting their frigate against a battlestar of this size could have only ended badly for them."

"This is only one of the largest ships in the fleet. I have no idea at all why it would end badly for them," Kaczmarek said in a mock-serious manner.

Aderyn leaned in closer. "Apparently, this frigate is armed with some sort of battlestar-killing missile and had it loaded in a launch tube and ready to fire at us.

Kaczmarek took a moment to ponder this before he said, "That would not have ended so well for us. Unless our point defense guns were able to intercept it in time, then we'd have had nothing to worry about."

"Personally, that's a little too close for comfort. It just feels as if we've gone from trying to keep the Cylons from killing us to trying to stay alive from some rogue elements of our own military."

"Well it's not like life has been normal for us lately," Kaczmarek said.

"You have to wonder what has been going on with that frigate and the station. I mean it's strange that after eight months they had no idea that the Cylons had attacked."

Kaczmarek shrugged. "Perhaps the facility went dark long before then and the frigate was here to either deter trespassers or destroy them outright."

"Well hopefully the Admiral will find some answers before whoever is over there on that station labels us as 'trespassers'," Aderyn said.

**Seven Minutes Later: **

**Ship's Chapel: **

Tolan entered the _Colossus_' chapel and took in the sight. He remembered the look of the chapel on the_ Galactica_ and compared to what he was looking at now it looked very dated. The _Colossus_ looked every bit the new battlestar it had been when it had commissioned over a year before the Colonies fell and its chapel looked as sleek and modern as the rest of the ship. He was glad to see that Chaplain Parker was ministering to a group of crewmembers; even in times of disaster there were those who clung to their faith in an attempt to maintain their strength.

He made his way to a nearby chair and took a seat. He did not open a nearby copy of the Sacred Scrolls but instead sat there and took in the subdued atmosphere. With a trip into the unknown that awaited him on the space station it was good to reflect and gather his thoughts. The quiet meditation would be useful to him at a time like this.

"Excuse me, Admiral Tolan, is this seat taken?" a woman's voice asked behind him.

Tolan turned and was shocked by who it was that had spoken to him, "Cadet Tolen, you can have a seat if you'd like."

Sophia Tolen took the seat beside him and stared off into the distance as though she wanted to say something but was not sure if she could look him in the face to say it. "I know this is going to be awkward, but as far back as I can remember, my family and I have done nothing but harbor a deep hatred for you."

Tolan nodded. "I imagine there are those on my side of the family who wouldn't have a lot of nice things to say about you and your family either."

"For what it's worth, I don't think my parents imagined something like this happening. My father is probably doing several hundred RPMs in his grave right now at the thought of my being under your command."

"I think if I had ended up under the command of a Tolen then my grandfather would come back from the dead just to try to make sure he could undo it.

"I know this isn't going to be easy for either one of us. But the truth is that when the attacks happened I initially felt a burst of happiness because I was certain both you and Lacey had died. I know you are probably going to think badly of me but there it is," Tolen said as she wondered what effect her words were going to have.

"We are family even if it's a family that has a bitter feud. You're right, this is not going to be easy for either one of us but I promise to try if you promise as well."

"It'll take some time; just don't have me constantly cleaning the heads because you were slighted by my family all these years."

Tolan looked at her in shock. "What's this, a member of the crew who does not enjoy Cleaning Stations? That's the backbone of our fine fleet!"

"Why did you and Lacey want to join the Fleet? The two of you could have been living like royalty with all the money the Basileus brought in."

Tolan was quiet as he thought over his answer. "When I was twelve my older brother was gunned down right in front of me. It was an attempt to wrest power of the Basileus from my grandfather. It didn't succeed, but that event left an impact on me. It also had a profound effect on my mom; seeing how devastated she was at having to bury her oldest child, I couldn't put her through that if something happened to me. To make a long story short, it was arranged for me to go off to military school and it fueled my desire to get as far away from the Basileus as I could."

Tolen gave him a quizzical look. "To get away from a life of violent crime where you could have been killed, you joined the Colonial Fleet where you could have been killed in a war?"

"I never said it was a perfect plan but it served its purpose and it made my mom happy that I wasn't following in the family business. Now as for Lacey, her parents were killed in a car crash when she was five and she was sent to live with my mom, and we became more like siblings instead of cousins. I was her big brother and she wanted to follow in my footsteps."

"You're an interesting person, Admiral. I'm still trying to decide if it's a bad thing or a good thing," she finally said.

"I'm going to let you break protocol when we're not on duty and you can call me 'Scott'. Fair enough?"

She nodded, "It shouldn't be a problem and if it is then I can expect to start cleaning the heads with a toothbrush."

"I'm going to leave word with the Officer of the Deck; you're being commissioned as an officer and assigned to Tactical with the rank of Ensign. Commander Woods vouches for you and that's good enough for me," Tolan said as he stood to leave, "I have a meeting but I'd like to meet with you again so we can start putting this family feud behind us. You have a good day, Ensign Tolen."

Sophia Tolen watched Admiral Tolan leave and her conflicted feelings became harder to ignore. All of her life she had been raised to hate the Tolan family and here she was feeling a sense of gratitude toward him for showing her a small measure of kindness when he could have easily tried his best to make her life miserable.

Sitting there alone, she knelt in prayer and spoke to her family members. She asked that if they could see her from the afterlife that they not think too harshly of her for what she had done.

"Care for some company?" a voice beside her asked.

Tolen looked up and saw the chaplain standing by her seat. "Feel free; but what about the crew members I saw you conversing with?"

"I'm Wilfred Parker, Chaplain of the _Colossus_," Parker said as he extended a hand to Tolen.

Tolen took his hand and gave it a slight shake before releasing it. "Cadet Sophia Tolen, apparently soon to be Ensign according to my cousin."

"I didn't realize there was another Tolan onboard," Parker said.

Tolen shook her head. "It's spelled differently, there's an 'e' instead of an 'a' in the name. The result of the longest ongoing conflict ever seen on Canceron, and it all goes back to the Basileus."

Parker was quiet as he thought a reply. "However long your family has been feuding, wouldn't now be as good of a time as any to put an end to it?"

Tolen let out a slight laugh. "You're sounding like Commander Woods now. Despite what people say it's not exactly an easy thing to do. I've hated him and those on his side of the family for so long it's not like I can flip a switch and turn that off. On one hand I understand the need to put it behind me but on the other I wonder if I've died and am being punished in the afterlife."

"Considering this is not how I would envision the afterlife I prefer to think we're still alive. I'd rather spend eternity back home in the jungles of Scorpia or some idyllic beach. Not serving as Chaplain on what is essentially a mobile spaceport."

"One of my friends at the Academy was from Scorpia. His name was Percy Anson; I think he was from Autzen if I remember correctly. You probably think I'm being a bitch, here I am having been rescued by Admiral Tolan and I talk as though I wish the Cylons had killed him in the opening attack."

"Is that what you really wish?" Parker asked.

"Yes…no…Gods, I don't know. Why do you ask so many questions?"

"It's part of my job as a spiritual advisor. Sometimes I provide guidance to those who are searching for a way, and listen to them as they try to figure out what truth they are seeking. Other times I get to tell them to grow up and get over whatever petty grudge they are holding, either one can be effective when used right."

Tolen shot him an annoyed look. "Are you saying I fall into that last category?"

"I just want to show you that there can be more than one way to look at a situation. I have spoken to Admiral Tolan a few times and I at least have an idea of his mindset. He threw everything he had into Ostarsis to rescue you and the other prisoners. Now he's got to find a way to reunite us with the rest of the fleet, and he is ultimately responsible for what happens to all of us here on the _Colossus_. If you think about it, it really is a terrible burden to deal with."

Tolen stood up to leave. "I think I could use some guidance on this matter, can I come back later to talk more?"

Parker smiled, "The doors to this chapel are always open."

**Crew Berthing Compartment 0-9-4:**

Major Darren Clay sat down in the chair and pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. He and his Special Forces team, the Blue Bombers, had finished their daily regimen of physical training and now it was time for them to take a well-earned rest.

"Hey, Major, do you think we're going to get bored training all the time?" Lieutenant Masao Kotara asked.

"No way are we going to get bored. I'm sure something is going to require our expertise," Captain William Story said.

"If Admiral Tolan can keep finding the kind of fights like he says he's found these past eight months then we won't be bored for long," Second Lieutenant Jay Brewer added.

"That depends," Second Lieutenant Adan Ismael said before adding, "If we get boarded then we can be used, or if there's something planetside that requires our attention then we won't be bored. Until then we'll be busy trying to keep our skills sharp."

"Izzy, you may be in trouble then; the moment some shiny object comes along you'll be distracted by it," First Lieutenant Demarcus Hayes teased.

"Well 'D' you can sit on it and rotate for all I care; my focus has always been sharp," Ismael retorted.

"Let's not let this become some kind of pissing contest," Corporal Conner Leeds said.

"Agreed, we can settle this later," Clay said as he heard the door to the compartment open and saw Admiral Tolan step in.

"Judging by what I was hearing on this side of the door I thought I was listening to a squadron of Viper pilots bicker," Tolan said as he stepped into the compartment and closed the door behind him.

"Admiral Tolan, what can we do for you, sir?" Clay asked as he stood up to walk over and shake the admiral's hand.

"To make a long story short, I have a meeting on a station we came across and I would prefer to have you and about five of your Bombers escort me and Commander Woods."

"That should provide a welcome distraction, you let us know when you're ready and I'll have a group ready to escort you. How much trouble should we expect?"

Tolan shrugged. "I honestly have no idea, but just be ready in case shots are fired in our general direction."

"We're always expecting someone to take a shot at us, so it won't be all that different from being off-duty."

Tolan nodded. "Understood. I'll give you time to get ready and when you're needed I'll send word."

After Tolan had left it was Story who spoke first. "Major, you showed a lot of respect to the Admiral just now. I don't think I ever saw you do that once for Commander Woods. Is there something going on with your train of thought?"

Clay shrugged his shoulders. "He's a flag officer and until we're in a better position than we are right now I'll play the game and do what needs to be done. This is his ship and his territory, and I believe there's a strong chance he may actually know what he's doing. That's something I could say about Commander Woods and keep a straight face."

"You do realize who his family is? You're talking about the de facto heir to the Basileus Crime Syndicate," Brewer interjected.

"Now if needed I'm not afraid of a little regime change, but right now I'm going play nice with the admiral until I'm in a better position. Gods knows the man has been very accommodating with us, and if I have to play nice with the clueless flyboy to keep that going I'm willing to do it. Enough talk, let's get ready to board that station and see what kind of fun we can get ourselves into."

**Twenty-Eight Minutes Later: **

**Hangar Deck: **

In Hangar Bay Three Raptor 268 had been prepped for takeoff. The lone pilot waited by her craft thinking it a bit strange that her ECO was not going to be following her along for this occasion. Lieutenant Valencia 'Val' Warrick felt a bit strange going off into unknown territory, and doing so with a Fleet Admiral as well. Like many of the crew, she had known of Admiral Tolan by reputation when the _Colossus_ became his flagship. She had a friend at Abry Military Academy who was from Canceron and had told her stories of the Basileus. Knowing the activities of the Tolan family had colored her perception of the flag officer.

She wondered what her family would think if they were still alive, much like her former crewmates of the Battlestar _Geryon_. Her life had been charmed so far, she realized, with having been assigned to the _Colossus_' sister ship and then being able to land on the _Colossus_ when the _Geryon_ had been disabled by the Cylons. It had been just a day ago when her ship had managed to escape being destroyed by the Cylons yet again. While she may have been skeptical when it came to the concept of luck, the recent events were starting to alter her feelings on the subject ever so slightly.

Warrick heard a commotion and saw that Admiral Tolan had stepped onto the hangar along with another fleet officer and six armed personnel she assumed were Marines judging by their appearance.

"Admiral Tolan, it's a pleasure to have you as a passenger," she said as she came to attention and snapped off a salute.

Tolan returned the salute. "At ease, Lieutenant. You will be taking Commander Woods, our Army friends, and me over to the station we've come across. Once we dock, I want you to stay by the controls in case you suddenly need to leave."

Warrick nodded and when she noticed the look on Tolan's face she asked, "Admiral, may I ask why you look so…amused?"

"Thinking back to a situation about six years ago when I was a passenger in a Raptor, it made for an interesting time," Tolan said as he remembered his visit to the _Valkyrie_ during his part of the rescue mission that freed Renee and Rachael Adar from the clutches of the Erebea pirate group and the terrorist Sagitarron Liberation Army.

"Would I be out of line to ask what happened?" she asked knowing that her curiosity was getting the better of her.

"There was a member of the deck gang working with the Sagitarron Liberation Army. He sabotaged the Raptor and if it hadn't have been for the skill of the pilot both us would have been unable to walk away from the crash alive."

"Now you have me curious," Woods chimed in. "You never once told me exactly how Bowman's Raptor had been sabotaged!"

"Bowman…you mean Artimus Bowman? He was my Raptor instructor at Vaught-Hemingway after I graduated from Abry!" Warrick exclaimed.

"First things first. Major Clay, you and your men can go ahead and board the Raptor," Tolan said.

"Yes, sir," Clay said before motioning for the other five Special Forces members to follow him inside the Raptor.

"Now that I have that out of the way; yes, Lieutenant, that pilot was in fact Artimus Bowman and he more than proved that day his skill in piloting Raptors. Now if you can give me a moment, it appears I have some explaining to do to Commander Woods."

"I've been waiting over six years to hear this; I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Woods jokingly teased.

"After it was all said and done it didn't seem to be that big a deal. The mission was over and I survived and that seemed to be more important. For what it's worth I didn't tell Emily either so both of you were kept in the dark," Tolan said before adding, "The crewman in question sabotaged the Raptor's Tylium Transfer Regulator. As the Raptor's FTL spooled up, the regulator failed and flooded the engine with Tylium which caused an overload."

"Gods, landing that thing must have been like trying to land a brick," Warrick said.

"It hit the deck and wall of the landing pod as though it were a brick," Tolan said and he saw the incredulous look on Woods' face. "Now you see why it was best to leave out that particular story. Besides, both Artimus and I were sworn to secrecy.

"Right, well I suppose we should get moving," Woods said as she made her way into the Raptor.

"Permission to speak freely," Warrick said.

"Granted," Tolan said and waited to hear what the pilot had to say.

"I don't think the Commander liked hearing that story. For what it's worth, I do plan to make this Raptor ride of yours as uneventful as possible."

"If you could pull that off I would be grateful," Tolan said as he too got inside the Raptor and settled into the co-pilot's seat. He would not admit it but remembering that mission all those years ago brought back memories from other events that had happened during that time and he found himself dwelling on things that he made it a point to not think about.

Minutes later, the Raptor left the _Colossus_ bound for Kyros Station.


End file.
